Crawford was born in
Memphis, Tennessee, United States. He began formal piano studies at the age of nine and was soon playing for his church choir. His father had brought an alto saxophone home from the service and when Hank entered Manassas High School, he took it up in order to join the band. He credits
Charlie Parker,
Louis Jordan,
Earl Bostic and
Johnny Hodges as early influences. Crawford appears on an early 1952 Memphis recording for
B.B. King, with a band including
Ben Branch and
Ike Turner. In 1958, Crawford went to college at
Tennessee State University in
Nashville, Tennessee. This is when Crawford met
Ray Charles, who hired Crawford originally as a baritone saxophonist. When Crawford left Ray Charles in 1963 to form his own septet, he had already established himself with several albums for
Atlantic Records. Crawford recorded "Wild Flower" in 1973, and He worked with
Cornell Dupree "Shadow Dancing" album in 1978.Much of his career has been in R&B, but in the 1970s he had several successful jazz albums, with
I Hear a Symphony reaching 11 on
Billboard's Jazz albums list and 159 for Pop albums.
David Sanborn cites Crawford as being one of his primary influences. Crawford is recognized by saxophonists as having a particularly unique and pleasing sound. In 1981, he featured, with fellow horn players
Ronnie Cuber and
David Newman, on B.B. King's
There Must Be a Better World Somewhere. In 1983 he moved to
Milestone Records as a premier arranger, soloist, and composer, writing for small bands including guitarist
Melvin Sparks, organist
Jimmy McGriff, and
Dr. John. In 1986, Crawford began working with blues-jazz organ master
Jimmy McGriff. ==Discography==